I've heard and seen that Qatar is great place to travel and see but very expensive. Everyone is always going to Bali. The first time I travel overseas certainly won't be there.

Anyone else here using Outlook. Lately I am getting a lot of spam.

Come on over to the US. If nothing else all the chicks will love your accent.

I live in the SE area of the US. The Great Smoky Mountains are really popular and for good reason, if you like the outdoors. We are just heading into summer here so everything will be in full swing... hiking, camping, white water rafting, fishing, kayaking, boating, canoeing, swimming, whatever. My area's cost of living is pretty low so your vacation dollar can go a lot further.

You can even go pay homage at the origin of legend, Jack Danial's distillery. I pass by the exit for it a few times a week when heading to Nashville. The tours are free but not the whiskey.

I haven't really considered visiting the US. I'd like to see Europe and some of Asia.

Don't take this the wrong way but the thing that puts me off the US & Europe at the moment is all the shootings and even Asia.

Not a problem around here as I live in a rural area. My town is 45-50K people. I stay out of the big cities if at all possible but then I always have. There have been a rash of shootings in Chattanooga (nearest bigger city) but it is all gang related and all in certain areas that are predominately a specific ethnicity (I am all for walling them up and letting them wipe themselves out so everyone else doesn't have to worry, but that's just me). I was there Thursday for an early birthday dinner and had no worries about it.

Basically, if you avoid the kinds of places you would not want to be in anyway (inner city, rundown areas, etc.) then you are good. You hear about all the "crazy" shootings in the news because, well, "if it bleeds then it leads" is the motto of the news in general; it gets a lot more viewers than soup kitchens and homeless rescues.

As a side note: the cities with the strictest gun controls (NYC, Chicago, DC, LA, New Orleans, Boston) also have the highest incidences of shootings. Go figure.

... As a side note: the cities with the strictest gun controls (NYC, Chicago, DC, LA, New Orleans, Boston) also have the highest incidences of shootings. Go figure.

Yet, if you look at gun deaths per STATE, Southern states with the laxest gun laws dominate the list of most gun deaths per capita. Go figure that one!

Gun violence in the US is higher than other countries but, as Trotter mentioned, it's not nearly as bad as the press makes it seem. I personally don't understand why guns are such an important part of many Americans life.

As a European, we learn from the media that the US is more dangerous to live in because of gun violence.
This is ofcause all bad press. but it's something that a decent amount of Europeans think of when visiting America. The guns....
It's ofcause not true that everyone is walking around with a gun on them, but quite a few Europeans think that it's common to see a gun carried by someone in public.
The media really is powerful. It can easily create a false image of a certain country or person, and everyone believes it in a second.... because everything on paper is ofcause 100% accurate... (being sarcastic)

As a European, we learn from the media that the US is more dangerous to live in because of gun violence.
This is ofcause all bad press. but it's something that a decent amount of Europeans think of when visiting America. The guns....
It's ofcause not true that everyone is walking around with a gun on them, but quite a few Europeans think that it's common to see a gun carried by someone in public.
The media really is powerful. It can easily create a false image of a certain country or person, and everyone believes it in a second.... because everything on paper is ofcause 100% accurate... (being sarcastic)

By ofcouse, do you mean of course?

Ehhm... yeah, the media really really sucks. As good as it is, it is as disastrous. It's good for cartoons at least.